There and Back Again

We have indeed been "there," to the States, and "back again," to our German home.

It took two canceled flights and 48 hours but as we finally got off the plane, we were so grateful to be in our Washington home. We spent the first couple days before Christmas in Gig Harbor with Chase’s family then zipped over the pass to Yakima on Christmas Eve (something we’ve done every year in our marriage). After that, it was drinking from a relational firehose balancing multiple meetings a day with people here, there, and everywhere. We have 30 years of relationships within a few-hour radius! Although adding unexpected stress, the snow and Omicron only forced minor alterations to our plans.

Here are a couple of FAQ that we received on our travels:

“Is it weird to be back home?”

Well, since we’ve always spent Christmas like we described, the first part of our trip actually wasn’t that weird… it was strangely “normal” (minus the jet lag.) Whether from Issaquah or Munich we are familiar with that rhythm, a few days in the Notorious G.I.G., a few days in the Palm Springs of Washington, connecting with visiting friends–it’s what we always have done. In Yakima, I (Chase) actually thanked the out-of-state relatives for driving so far…they were like, “You're the ones that came from Germany!” Oh yeah…

It wasn’t until January and we visited Seattle/Issaquah that I (Meg) started to feel some displacement. When planning to reconnect with a few now-college young life kids, I didn’t have a home to invite them to! Regardless, it was so sweet to be with people who know us. When we spontaneously attended our Issaquah church, we were bombarded with hugs and a happy surprise shoutout. One wonderful couple even hopped offline and into the car to come say hi! It was a wonderful reminder that we do indeed add value to a community, that people can be excited to see us.

That certainly filled our cup, as did all of our interactions. We were so extroverted-out we’d crash on the couch between meetings, and yet I didn’t want any of them to end.

All those moments are gifts that we will treasure and return to when we feel far away.

“Did you get to see everyone with Covid and stuff?”

Yes and no. Yes, we did get to see a lot of our friends and family and managed to stay healthy. Also no, Covid definitely affected things such as Meg’s plans to have a joint 30th birthday with friends. Unfortunately, this had to change and instead, we had an intimate gathering.

Beyond Covid, there also just wasn’t enough time to be with everyone (really wish we had Hermoine’s time-turner). If we didn’t get a chance to see you, it doesn’t mean we don’t like you! We learned a lot about how to navigate such trips, and we’ll get better at it with time. We will be back in June for our dear friend’s wedding and maybe again in the fall.

“What’s the update with your permits to work/volunteer with the schools”

Great question. When we got back last week, we got an email from the permit office requesting a bunch of information (marriage certificate, birth certificate, elementary school diploma, etc) which we have sent in. This is very good news because we 1) know that they are now actively working on our application and 2) there is an actual person assigned to us now that we can check in on. We are hopeful it will be resolved soon.

“What are you doing now?”

There were several times in Issaquah that students would ask me, “Young Life is Chase’s job right?” “It sure is,” I would reply. “So what does he, like, do all day?” I would smile and explain that there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work.

And that’s where we are right now: behind the scenes, building our support system. We are actively learning the language (literally and metaphorically) of both the German culture and international/expat culture. We long for the day when kid-work gets to be our focus, but first, we are doing the necessary work of gathering the tools, tiling the soil, and listening for what wants to grow.

And that brings us to prayer. Would you join us in praying for the ONE?

• The ONE parent that is energized to help and connected to other parents at Munich International School

• The ONE teacher/administrator that gets what we’re doing and can help us navigate the school culture

• The ONE friend for each of us that can companion with us in a deep way

• The ONE kid that is ready for a Young Life leader (not all are, but that kind of friendship is so so sweet)

It all starts with ONE. We already have a few “ones” we are grateful for and appreciate your partnership in praying for those we have yet to meet.

Mexican, fried chicken, Salt&Straw, teriyaki...tastes like home